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Carol Marcus
Doctor Carol Marcus was one of the leading molecular biologists in the Federation. She devoted her life to her research. In the early 2260’s Carol became involved with a young Starfleet officer named James T. Kirk, and in 2261 she gave birth to their son, David. However, she felt that they had no basis for a lasting relationship, with Kirk traveling around the universe while she worked in a lab, so she asked that Kirk leave her alone to raise the boy. That they both cared more for their careers than they did for each other was never disputed. As Carol saw it, she and Kirk lived in entirely different worlds, and she wanted her son to be raised in hers. Carol continued with her work. She enjoyed much success, and in 2284 she proposed the most ambitious and potentially dangerous of her plans to the Federation, dubbed "Project Genesis". Once her proposal was accepted for Federation funding, she began a three-stage development process, accompanied by a highly skilled team of scientists which included her son, Dr. David Marcus. She and her team made remarkable progress and by 2285 they were ready to try out their new invention. However, before they could find a suitable planet on which to test the Genesis Device, Khan Noonien Singh and his band of “supermen‿ intervened, bringing Kirk back into her and David’s life. Though she didn’t share her son’s mistrust of Starfleet, she was incensed when told that her project and all her files were to be taken by the crew of the [[USS Reliant|USS Reliant]], under orders of the new Admiral Kirk. She was determined to fight this unexpected incursion into her territory, though she was willing to give her former lover the benefit of the doubt. When it turned out to be Khan, not Kirk, who stole the Genesis Device, she gratefully accepted Kirk’s assistance. Throughout the quest to save the device from Khan’s evil plans, it was apparent that, although Carol Marcus still felt affection for Kirk, her true love was her work. Even as havoc was erupting all around, she gazed on the glory of the Genesis Planet forming exactly as her specifications and years of research had indicated it would. The Genesis Project appeared to be a success, and her pride in her work was unmistakable. The encounter with Khan gave Carol the opportunity to tell David who his father was and to mend some old wounds between her and Kirk. When her son was later killed by Klingons on the Genesis Planet, Carol was left with her projects and her research, the life that had sustained her for many years. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) :Early drafts of Star Trek II featured Dr. Janet Wallace from "The Deadly Years" in the role of Kirk's old flame. :It has also been suggested that Carol was the "blonde lab technician" Kirk was introduced to by Gary Mitchell years earlier, mentioned in "Where No Man Has Gone Before". Of course it also could have been Janet Wallace or some other woman we never saw.